A frequent problem encountered with pocket conveyors, specifically pocket elevators, in industrial and other applications is a tendency for workpieces to jam at the elevator feed station or mechanism. A feed jam, which typically occurs in situations where workpieces are directed at random intervals to the elevator inlet and out of synchronism with the feed mechanism, may cause substantial delays in operation of the conveyor and expense in repair or replacement of damaged conveyor components or workpieces. The problem of feed jam occurs in gravity-fed pocket elevators, but is particularly acute in the case of positive-feed conveyors or elevators which employ a starwheel or the like for synchronously placing individual workpieces into successive conveyor pockets.